McMurry Earns First Career Win At Road Atlanta

Subtitle:Falb Clinches Masters Championship

Matt McMurry added another honor to a season to remember, earning his first career Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda victory Thursday, Oct. 2 at Road Atlanta.

McMurry, from Phoenix, beat runner-up Jon Brownson to the finish by 1.276 seconds after a restart with less than three minutes remaining in the 30-minute race. McMurry, 16, led the entire race after starting from the pole in the No. 20 JDC Motorsports entry.

“I led the whole race and got a bunch of really good restarts,” McMurry said. “I’ve been here a bunch of times, so that helps because I have a lot of experience here, and the car was perfect; it’s been great the whole weekend. So that made it a lot easier to do well.”

Masters competitor Brownson, from Breckenridge, Colorado, earned his first overall podium finish and first Masters victory of the season in the No. 34 Eurosport Racing Élan DP02 chassis powered by a Mazda engine. Christian Potolicchio, from Hallandale Beach, Florida, finished third overall after starting 13th in the No. 2 8Star Motorsports entry.

John Falb, from Las Vegas, clinched the Lites 1 Masters championship in the No. 77 ONE Motorsports car with his second-place finish in the class.

ONE Motorsports also earned a top step on the podium as Todd Slusher, from Las Vegas, won the Lites 2 category in the team’s No. 62 car.

McMurry became the second-youngest winner in series history behind Tristan Nunez in 2012. The victory added another important entry to McMurry’s growing resumé of success in his mid-teens. He made history in June by becoming the youngest driver ever to compete in the world’s most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Restarts played a big role in McMurry’s victory. He powered away from the field after two full-course cautions.

The final restart came with two minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the 30-minute race. McMurry eased away from Brownson for the final two-lap sprint to the checkered flag, leading after the first lap by .714 of a second and adding another half-second to the gap on his final trip around the 12-turn, 2.54-mile circuit.

Masters

Brownson started fifth overall and first in Masters and held that spot with power throughout the race. He held steady while three drivers ahead of him were involved in incidents or had mechanical problems to earn his first overall podium finish of the season.

“I’m happy to come away with a second overall and first place in the Masters,” the colorful Brownson said with a smile. “I’d say that’s half-fast for an old guy, but you have to be careful with your diction or it comes out sounding like half-ass.”

Falb also avoided the off-track excursions of others early in the race and pulled into second in Masters early in the race, holding that spot until the finish to clinch the championship in his first season in the class.

The runner-up finish was Falb’s eighth podium finish in 13 starts this season, as consistency delivered him the final title still available this season in the series.

“It feels unbelievable to get the championship,” Falb said. “I’m ecstatic. I started the season hoping to learn and do well. We had a few bad races there in the beginning, but we just kept showing up, suiting up and pounding out laps. To take home the Masters Championship in the first year is just a huge, huge success.”

Joel Janco, from Key Largo, Florida, finished third in the class in the No. 25 Performance Tech Motorsports entry. It was his second podium finish of the season.

Lites 2

Slusher started from pole and earned his second victory and seventh consecutive podium finish of the season since joining the class in mid-July at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

Series rookie Slusher lost the lead briefly to two-time and reigning Lites 2 series champion Brian Alder. But he wasted little time passing Alder for the lead and driving away for the victory.

“I’m ecstatic and really happy,” Slusher said. “I had a great race. I have a great coach this year, Sean Rayhall, the winner of Lites last year. He’s really done a great job with me. I’m pretty new to this sport, so it’s really been gratifying for me this year.”

Max DeAngelis, from Belle River, Canada, finished second in the No. 7 Eurosport Racing car in his first start in the series in two years. John Salmon, from Lynchburg, Virginia, finished third to earn his third podium finish in three starts this season in the No. 46 V.I.P.E.R. entry.

Up Next

The season-ending Round 14, a 45-minute race, is scheduled to start at 9:10 a.m. (ET) Friday. For live updates on all the action, follow @IMSALive on Twitter.

ROUND 13 POST-RACE QUOTES:

MATT McMURRY (No. 20 JDC Motorsports, winner): “Qualifying yesterday went really well because I got the pole but it went even better today because I think I got the pole for the next race, too, unless someone else went faster. And then I won! I led the whole race and got a bunch of really good restarts. I’ve been here a bunch of times, so that helps because I have a lot of experience here and the car was perfect; it’s been great the whole weekend. So that made it a lot easier to do well. (Tomorrow) I’m going to focus on getting more good starts and try to get a good gap at the beginning and hold it again.”

JON BROWNSON (No. 34 Eurosport Racing, second, first Lites Masters): “It was an exciting race, and it was a very clean race. It was so much fun and good competition. Having a couple of restarts to capitalize on made for some opportunities. I’m happy to come away with a second overall and first place in the Masters. I’d say that’s half-fast for an old guy, but you have to be careful with your diction or it comes out sounding like half-ass.”

CHRISTIAN POTOLICCHIO (No. 2 8Star Motorsports, third): “We had a really bad qualifying, blew up the engine, and I started 13th in the race. We finished P3. My team did an awesome job putting it all back together in just two hours. It’s great to finish third after all that happened.”

JOHN FALB (No. 77 ONE Motorsports, second, Masters, 2014 L1 Masters champion): “We didn’t quite get there in qualifying, so we started ninth. On the start we kind of just fell in line. There was a little action coming out of Turn 10, and I was able to pick up a couple of positions, and then we had a couple of full-course cautions. We just kept pounding out laps, and a few guys fell off. Second Masters, fifth overall, so it was a good day. It feels unbelievable to get the championship. I’m ecstatic. I started the season hoping to learn and do well. We had a few bad races there in the beginning, but we just kept showing up, suiting up and pounding out laps. To take home the Masters Championship in the first year is just a huge, huge success.”

JOEL JANCO (No. 25 Performance Tech Motorsports, third, Masters): “It was really a great race. It’s fun to be back on podium, and I’m happy that I’m with Performance Tech.”

TODD SLUSHER (No. 62 ONE Motorsports, winner, Lites 2): “I started on pole in the L2 class, and as everyone saw, the initial start was waved off so we had to go for a round again. I got off to a great start, kept my position and got my head down and kept going. We had a yellow come out that allowed some of the traffic to catch up, so I actually got passed under yellow by my closest competition, Brian Alder. It was close. We battled for a couple more laps, and I ended up passing him back, got the lead and held onto it for the rest of the race. I’m ecstatic and really happy. I had a great race. I have a great coach this year, Sean Rayhall, the winner of Lites last year. He’s really done a great job with me. I’m pretty new to this sport, so it’s really been gratifying for me this year.”

MAX DeANGELIS (No. 7 Eurosport Racing, second, Lites 2): “The race was awesome. A lot of restarts and a lot of carnage, but we stuck in. My first time back in two years, so it feels really good to get on the podium the first race back. The Eurosport guys did a great job and gave me a great car today.”

JOHN SALMON (No. 46 V.I.P.E.R., third, Lites 2): “It was a really exciting race. I had a nice race with Max (DeAngelis) during the last half of it. I was trying to get him, and the checkered was literally out as I was on his bumper. There was a lot of carnage, but it was good fun.”